


Deus Ex: Flygirls

by mitternachtseule



Category: Deus Ex (Video Games)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Sex, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2018-10-12 21:56:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10500234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitternachtseule/pseuds/mitternachtseule
Summary: "Faridah Malik?""That's me. Is something wrong?”“May I come in?” He was speaking softly and calm, his Mandarin blended with the singing Heng Sha-typical accent. He was in his late fifties. Despite the calm surrounding him, coldness spread in Faridahs stomach. Something was wrong. “Please”, she said roughly and opened the door for the police officer.“It’s about Evelyn Carmichael. A neighbour told us that you asked about her yesterday. He recognized you from your previous stay in Heng Sha. Is it correct that you have been in a relationship with Miss Carmichael back then?”“Yes, that’s right.” Faridah’s throat went dry.“Ms Malik, with great regret I have to inform you that Evelyn Carmichael has deceased.”





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nuclearsafetydance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nuclearsafetydance/gifts).



When Faridah Malik opened her eyes, she needed a few moments to figure out where she was. She had barely slept last night; being back here felt too strange, like an itch under her skin she just couldn’t reach. Too many memories were linked to this place, and not all of them were pleasant.  
Faridah tried to find out what had woken her up. Outside, it could not be much later than early morning; in the constant dimness of Heng Sha’s Lower City it made little difference if it was day and night.  
Somebody was knocking vigorously at the door of her apartment.  
Because of the lasting damp heat of the night Faridah had slept naked. "Just a second, please!”, she called in the direction of the door and grabbed the clothes she had dropped carelessly in front of the bed the night before. Ev would have had a fit at her tardiness and stacked everything away neatly.  
Dressed in tight blue jeans and a white tank top she opened the door. A police officer stood in front of her. He greeted her politely and took off his hat. “Good Morning, Ma’am. Faridah Malik?”  
“That’s me. Is something wrong?”  
“May I come in?” He was speaking softly and calm, his Mandarin blended with the singing Heng Sha accent. He was in his late fifties. Despite the calm surrounding him, coldness spread in Faridah’s stomach. Something was wrong. “Please,” she said roughly and opened the door for him.  
“Ms Malik, I’m afraid I have to tell you something that will surely bother you. Would you like to sit down?”  
“No, I’m okay.”  
“It’s about Evelyn Carmichael. A neighbour told us that you asked about her yesterday. He recognized you from your previous stay in Heng Sha. Is it correct that you have been in a relationship with Ms Carmichael back then?”  
“Yes, that’s right.” Faridah’s throat went dry.  
“Ms Malik, with great regret I have to inform you that Evelyn Carmichael is deceased.”  
Faridah didn’t say anything. She just stood there. For several minutes. Or maybe hours. She could not feel, could not think. The coldness spread through her body, from her stomach into her fingers, into her toes, into her head, taking all blood from her face.  
“Ms Malik?” the officer asked calmly. “I know you are going through a hard time right now. And when the shock has passed, you will surely have many questions. Since Mr Hong, Ms Carmichaels fiancé, is not available, I have to ask you for one more thing. Mostly a formality. Could you identify the deceased?”

Faridah could not remember agreeing, but at some point she must have done it, because next thing she knew she found herself in a bleak corridor at the basement of the local LIMB clinic, together with the police officer from this morning. A female LIMB doctor opened a heavy steel door and led them into a brightly illuminated room. Inside, besides a dormant medbot and some computer screens, stood only a steel table. On it was something, oblong, covered with a green cloth. The doctor turned to Faridah.  
“Are you ready?”  
Faridah nodded and the doctor lifted the cloth a little bit. A face appeared, bright skin, eyes closed, one covered by a huge bruise, the freckles on the cheeks...  
... barely covered by light, very subtle makeup. More would not have been necessary; the young woman shines from the inside. Two little dimples show up in her cheeks every time she laughs – and she laughs constantly. Faridah is instantly taken by this tall, blonde woman and her smile. It’s the first day in her new job with a small aviation company named ArcAir. Same thing for Evelyn Carmichael – that was how the young woman introduces herself when Faridah greets her a little awkwardly and asks if the seat next to her at the briefing room is free. Evelyn gives her a big smile. “And where are you from?”, she asks in perfect Oxford English, her brown eyes glistening. Faridah is instantly in love.

“Ms Malik?” The LIMB doctor gently touched her arm. “Can you clearly identify the deceased as Evelyn Carmichael?”  
Faridah nodded wordlessly. The cold in her stomach turned into bitter heat. She turned away hastily and threw up into the sink next to the door.  
The police officer escorted her outside. The hot and damp air of the city hit her with full force when they left the air-conditioned LIMB building, but Faridah was thankful for being outside again anyways. Only now did she dare ask the questions racing through her head.  
“How – how did it happen?”  
The officer led her to a bench besides the clinic entrance. “Let’s have a seat. I can’t tell you much for now, we have to wait for the autopsy report and for the examination by my colleagues. So far, we have to assume it was a tragic accident. Ms Carmichaels fiancé, Lee Hong, alarmed the emergency personnel shortly after midnight; she had fallen down the stairs and landed on her head. Mr Lee said she was drunk.”  
Faridah shook her head. “That’s impossible.”  
“I understand that this is very hard for you to take,” the officer answered calmly. “But still...”  
“No – no, I know... I mean...” It took Faridah a minute before she could continue. “I mean, I knew Evelyn. And I know her so-called fiancé, Lee Hong. He is the one to get drunk and lose his mind! I warned her about him... Oh God, how I warned her...” A tear was running down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily. “Check that bastard! He killed her...”  
„Ms Malik, that is a serious accusation. You are still in shock. Of course, we will investigate in any imaginable direction, but... Well, however hard this may be to accept – accidents happen. Every day.”  
“Not here. Sure as hell not.”  
“As I said, we will investigate any possibility. Strangely enough, Mr Lee disappeared as soon as the emergency personnel arrived. Now he communicates with us only via his lawyer.” He went silent for a minute, then he went up. “Do you want me to bring you home?”  
Faridah shook her head. “I would prefer being alone now. I’m okay.”  
“Surely? You should not be alone now.”  
“Thanks, I’m fine. Really.”  
He nodded and shook her hand. “Ms Malik, once again, my sincerest condolences. We will stay in touch.”  
Faridah nodded absently.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Please remember me always about one thing, Evelyn...”  
> “What?”  
> “To never mess up with you!”

Faridah decided to walk back home trough downtown Heng Sha. The people rushing around her, talking into their phones or to one another, discussing, arguing or flirting in the streets gave her the illusion of being not all alone in a no longer familiar place at the far side of the world. Actually, she was not alone at all; during her two-years long stay at Heng Sha she had made a couple of friends. Faridah was that kind of person that never stays lonely for long. And somewhere in these streets was Adam Jensen, too, on some Top Secret spy mission for Sarif. Still, in moments like this she missed her family. Her only family here, for quite a long time, had been Evelyn. And now she had lost her – first to Lee and then to death. Second one most likely in persona of the first. She was totally convinced by what she had told the police officer.  
In front of the Hive Club a janitor was cleaning up the leftovers from last night’s party. It was quiet here at this time of the day, the usually thrumming beats were silent. Pictures from her first visit here, three years ago, went up in Faridah’s mind. How she...

... is sitting at the bar and starting to feel slightly bored. Her new colleagues have persuaded her to go with them to the, as they promised, hottest club in town, just to find out that it’s a quite ordinary night club as it even existed back home in Dearborn, Michigan. Maybe a little more bling-bling than usual, but that doesn’t impress Faridah. And still, Michigan... She hates to admit it, but she is feeling homesick.  
She is just ordering her third Golden Dragon – given that, a pretty good drink – when someone taps her shoulder. She turns around, looking straight into a pair of shining brown eyes, framed by bright, incredibly cute freckles.  
“Faridah! Nice to see you!”  
“Evelyn! Nice surprise!” They have to scream over the thrumming music.  
“I didn’t know you wanted to come around tonight!”  
“Decided spontaneously!” They smile at each other, and Evelyn sits down on the bar stool next to Faridah.  
“What’s that fancy drink you have?”  
“Golden Dragon – be careful, strong stuff!”  
“Sounds perfect”, Evelyn chuckles and orders one for herself.  
For a while, they drink quietly together and watch the crowd around them, until the DJ switches to a song Faridah has heard the last time in her favourite club back home. The New Black Gold. Not that new, but it still gives her goose bumps. She gathers all her courage and asks: “Wanna dance?”  
Evelyn smiles brightly, her perfect white teeth shining. “Just thought you’d never ask!”  
They make their way through the dancing crowd until they find a little space for themselves on the dancefloor. Evelyn is a pretty good dancer with smooth movements, still somewhat restraint. In contrast to the young, conspicuously augmented Chinese next to her. He seems to have some senses for rhythm but moves quite sweepingly; maybe to show off his shining cybernetic arms. On his slim black shirt stands the distinct stylised bull head of the Belltower logo. He bumps into Evelyn several times. First like accidentally, and since she is showing no reaction, a bit more pushy, first at her shoulder, then her hips. He even winks at her sassily while they collide. Evelyn makes a face and turns away, closer to Faridah. He doesn’t seem to like that reaction and pushes himself between the two women intrusively.  
“Hey, what’s your name?”, he shouts at her over the music. Evelyn doesn’t answer and turns away from him again.  
“I’m talking to you! And I want to dance with you!” His hand reaches out for Evelyn.   
“But I don’t want to dance with you! Piss off!”, Evelyn shouts back and turns to Faridah.  
Apparently, the boy can’t accept being rejected. He grabs Evelyn’s arm.  
“Why not? Don’t you like men?” He makes an obscene gesture.  
“I don’t like you, the rest is none of your business! Fuck off!”  
“Why so rude, girl? Just wanna have some fun!” This time his grab goes after Evelyn’s butt. That second he crosses the last boundary. Her punch into his face looks harmlessly, open-handed, but Evelyn knows exactly what she’s doing. His nose breaks with an ugly cracking sound, and he stumbles backwards into a group of dancers. Blood is dripping out of his nostrils.  
Meanwhile, the two guards at the entrance have become aware of the scene. They run over and grab the boy by his arms before he can take revenge at Evelyn.  
“Bitch broke my nose!”, he screams when they drag him roughly out of the club.  
An elderly man with silver-grey hair comes over to Evelyn and Faridah, the right side of his face almost entirely covered by a huge red port wine stain.  
“Good evening, ladies. I’m Tong Si Hung, owner of the Hive. I’m very sorry, but I have to ask you to leave the club. I saw what happened and I know the boy provoked you. But we have very strict rules concerning violence. Please.” He points towards the exit.  
Faridah goes up for an angry backtalk, but Evelyn softly takes her elbow.  
“No offense meant, Mr Tong, we were just leaving anyway.”  
Tong does a light bow and smiles politely. “Thanks for your understanding. Please visit us soon again.”  
Outside on the street Evelyn places a hand on Faridah’s shoulder and makes a concerned face. “Sorry, Malik, I didn’t want to ruin the party for you!”  
“Don’t! Stop it, Evelyn!” Faridah laughs. “It was pretty cool how you gave that asshole what he deserves – I haven’t seen something that satisfying in quite a while. Just remember me always about one thing...”  
“What?”  
“To never mess up with you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still not totally happy with that chapter. As you might have figured, I'm no native speaker and don't have a beta yet. So if you find any big mistakes, please let me know...  
> Next chapter will be more smut, promised!


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well now, did I promise too much?”, Evelyn asked with a smirk.  
> “No, this is by far the best thing I’ve ever experienced. How can I return the favour?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here comes the promised porn... Enjoy! Still, I'm not totally happy with my own translation, sorry for mistakes!

The helicopter hangar was cool and dim, smelling from motor oil and fresh paint. Faridah liked the distinct atmosphere and the silence of this place. She would not have to be here; Adam was still on his mission and wouldn’t want to leave soon, unless nothing unexpected happened. But Faridah had the need to do something useful, so she decided to perform a thorough check-up on her VTOL. Maybe she could find the reason for that strange rattling sound she had experienced a few times lately. She switched on the lights above her working station and looked for the small diagnosis device she needed for checking her bird’s electronics. While searching, the photography sticking to the lid of her tool box caught her eyes. It was looking all innocent: Faridah and Evelyn, leaned onto each other, smiling brightly into the lens, their VTOL in the background. Despite all the grief she was feeling, the memory attached to this picture immediately spread warmth between Faridah’s thighs. A few days after the party at the HIVE...

... Faridah has totally forgotten the time over her work in the hangar. During today’s test flight they have experienced issues with the tail rotor’s controls; the flight has been quite rough, and they had to return early. Faridah has to find and fix the reason as the VTOL will be needed the next day for some important cargo transport. It takes her some time, but eventually she finds the troublemaker: a clogged hydraulics line. The evening air is oppressively hot, too hot even for Heng Sha. Faridah has dropped down the top part of her pilot suit, the sleeves slung loosely around her hips. The white tank top she’s wearing underneath has already received a lot of oil stains, but she doesn’t care.  
She is just stuck down to the hips under the hood when someone next to her softly knocks on the VTOL’s chassis. She jerks and bumps her head.  
“Dammit, who the hell...”  
It is Evelyn, standing in front of her with a big smile, casually lent against the bird. Dressed in a white, skin tight pilot suit, she reminds her of an astronaut from some sci-fi movie Faridah has seen a few days ago. One of the day’s last sunbeams, shining trough the open hangar gate, is painting red light dots into her blonde hair. Faridah is totally convinced she never has seen something so beautiful in life before.  
“Oh, hi”, she says and feels incredibly lame. “What are you doing here?”  
“Just finished some paperwork, then I saw you still working here – so I decided to come over and ask if you could use some help...”  
“Thanks, that’s nice.” Faridah wipes her forehead with the back of her hand, not realising that she leaves a broad motor oil stain. “Just had some issues with that hydraulics line, I’m almost done.” She looks at her black stained hands, wipes them at the sides of her top and smiles apologising. “You would just ruin your suit, so – thanks for the offer!”  
Evelyn grabs a mostly clean cloth from Faridah’s tool box. “You’ve got something there”, she murmurs and wipes the oil stain from her forehead.  
Hot blood rises up into Faridah’s cheeks, and her knees start trembling. Evelyn is so close, she smells the scent of her viola perfume, mingled with her pilot suit’s dry leather. Her legs turn soft while the world around them is spinning blazingly fast and standing still at the same time. Things make no sense. Things make totally sense. Evelyn’s lips come closer, and then they meet, first as soft and light as two butterflies, then stronger, hungry, demanding, exploring, Evelyn’s tongue in Faridah’s mouth, Faridah’s teeth nibbling on Evelyn’s lips, both gasping for breath, meeting again, while their hands are roaming over their bodies, time and time again clutching at them as if they were drowning. And this is exactly as it is for Faridah: Evelyn is like the lifebelt flying at her in an ocean of loneliness and homesickness, so unexpected and so incredibly precious.  
Evelyn’s hands stroke her back, wander under her pilot dress down onto her butt, cupping and squeezing it while they are melting into each other in another kiss.  
“I have to confess something”, Faridah whispers when their lips separate.  
“What is it?”  
“I’ve never been with a woman before. I’m not sure, how...”  
Evelyn chuckles. “Never before? So, you’ve missed the best thing in life so far.” Her hands wander slowly up on her body onto her breasts, stroking them softly. “Don’t be afraid, Malik. I’ve got my experiences...” She chuckles. “Just keep talking to me, tell me what you like...” Her hands are cupping Faridah’s breasts and squeezing them lightly, while her thumbs are toying with her nipples trough the bra.  
“Ah, that for example”, Faridah mumbles roughly into the soft skin of Evelyn’s neck. Evelyn strokes over her short, tousled hair, then drags her top over her head and undoes the plain white sports bra. “Fuck, Faridah, you are so beautiful”, she whispers and covers her small breasts with kisses, sucks at the perfect, dark nipples.  
Faridah moans. Evelyn’s voice alone makes her become as wet as she hasn’t been in a long, long time.  
“Do you like it?”, Evelyn asks.  
“Damn, yes!”  
Evelyn grabs her shoulders and shoves her backwards against the VTOL. “Can’t believe that no woman has done you before, cute as you are!” She kneels down in front of her and covers her belly with kisses, from her breasts down to her navel, and a little further. “What do you think, shall I take down your pants?”, she asks innocently.  
“Yes, please!” Faridah is panting.  
Evelyn lets her long, slender fingers run under the back of her pilot suit and pulls the firm lycra fabric down until Faridah’s panties show, plain and white like her bra. Evelyn takes her time, sweeps over her hipbones and all slowly to the front, to the spot where a small strip of short, black hair is showing under the panties. “Shall I move on? Do you want me to touch you down there?”, she asks, now roughly and a little breathless, too.  
“Yes, please, go on!” Faridah doesn’t know where to put her hands, so she takes one up behind her head. With the other hand, she strokes Evelyn’s head, over the long blonde hair Evelyn has put together in some complicated braid, over her cheekbones, while Evelyn slowly lets her fingers run into her panties. Faridah can’t help the moan when she touches her clit, just short and fleetingly, withdrawing immediately.  
“Please, go on...” Faridah feels like going insane, so much she needs the touch now, she wants friction, she wants... “Oh, fuck!”  
“Go on with what?”, Evelyn asks innocently and puts two fingers into her own mouth, sucking them pleasurably, while Faridah is visibly in anguish.  
“Dammit, Evelyn, please...” Faridah’s own hand goes down between her thighs, but Evelyn shoves her away. “No, no, no, Malik! What do you want?”  
“Fuck, Evelyn! Please... please put your hand back down there, please, touch me...”  
“Like this?”, Evelyn asks and rubs her clit with two fingers. She has a hard time keeping her pace deliberately slow; hearing Faridah begging is almost too much for her, the more as she starts moaning roughly now. Evelyn keeps stroking, rubs over her entrance, puts one finger inside, then a second, thrusting slowly. “So wet, Malik... Such a good girl... Tell me what you feel!”  
“Ah, I feel like... I’m dying... so hot...”  
Evelyn can’t help it, with her free hand she rubs herself through her suit. While thrusting slowly and intense into her with two fingers, she starts licking her clit, completely overwhelmed by her scent and her velvet skin. She increases her pace, Faridah’s hips meeting her hand and her tongue, taking her fingers as deep inside as possible. Evelyn enjoys the movements of her firm muscles and her increasing moistness. Hastily, she undoes the zipper of her own suit so she can satisfy herself properly. She buries her nose in Faridah’s soft pubic hair and moans softly against her clit. Faridah’s body arches back, her walls are pulsating, and then she comes, deeply and roughly moaning, struggling not to cry out loud. Evelyn stands up and drags the trembling woman into her arms. Their kiss is intense and affectionate, Faridah tasting herself in Evelyn’s mouth, bitter, salty.  
“Well now, did I promise too much?”, Evelyn asks with a smirk.  
“No, this is by far the best thing I’ve ever experienced. How can I return the favour?”


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they finally were lying there, sweaty and satisfied in each other’s arms, Faridah whispered again: “Welcome home!”  
> Evelyn answered with a kiss on her forehead. “I never want to leave!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More hotness this time; enjoy it while you can, things will get serious again soon enough.  
> Anyone volunteering as beta?

Evening came, and Faridah knew that she would soon have to return home, into her empty apartment. Adam was still busy. He had informed her over infolink about the latest developments; he was tracking down a hacker called van Bruggen, alias Windmill. He was most likely the one who had remote controlled the augmented hacker during the attempted theft of the typhoon data at Sarif Industries. Also, and that was no surprise at all, the triads seemed to be involved. The ones pulling the strings from behind though still were remaining covert.  
She bought a cup of fried noodles with vegetables and a sixpack of Chinese beer at one of the many little Heng Sha street shops, then slowly returned to her apartment.  
The air conditioner had been running on a low level throughout the day, so it was warm, but not terribly hot. Faridah dropped her bought stuff onto the kitchen table. The hunger she had felt on her way home was gone. She took a beer from the sixpack and put the remaining bottles into the fridge, then she dropped on the sofa and closed her eyes. She was tired, so deadly tired. And that was not just because she had been woken up so early this morning. That evening three years ago...

... when Evelyn stands at her doorstep, smiling all over her face when Faridah opens the door for her, is hot and damp, just like today. One could not say that Evelyn is travelling with light luggage; the cab driver who brought her drags out four big suitcases and about the double amount of smaller bags and boxes out of his car. Faridah is not a single bit surprised. Evelyn is born into one of the oldest and wealthiest families of Boston and has experienced a fitting education. Perfectly dressed at every time of day and night, always fresh and pleasant-smelling, though – and that is one of the things Faridah likes so much about her – always subtle and classy, not pretentious.  
The door isn’t entirely closed behind the driver when Faridah shoves Evelyn backwards against it, pinning her in place with a deep and passionate kiss, cupping her face with both hands. Evelyn answers the kiss equally passionate and pulls her close to herself.  
“Welcome to your new home”, Faridah whispers breathlessly when their lips part for a second. She enjoys the softness of Evelyn’s mouth and that by now so familiar scent of violas, kisses her way down her neck and back up to her earlobes, nibbles softly at them and gets rewarded with the cutest small sigh from Evelyn. Her hands stroke Evelyn’s back, over the rough linen fabric of her short, creme-coloured summer dress, down to her butt. She worships the firm muscles under her hands and her girlfriend’s warmth, feels her returning the caressing. Evelyn’s fingers run under Faridah’s black tight shirt, her fingernails scratching her back and leaving the feeling of glowing traces on her skin.  
Faridah drags her a little tighter into her arms and undoes the zipper of her dress, strips it from her shoulders. It falls to the floor, revealing sun-tanned skin and a set of fine silken lingerie, creme-coloured like the dress, with delicate lace and a small ribbon on bra and panties. Faridah caresses her firm breasts and opens her bra, squeezing the breasts softly and admiring the big, bright nipples.  
“Miss Malik, your pulse is getting dangerously high, and your pupils are so wide – I would say you’re horny...”, Evelyn whispers.  
Faridah raises her eyebrows in an irritated frown, then she grumbles. “Show-off! Put off that damn CASIE-aug, this is so unsexy!”  
Evelyn smirks. “Don’t you! I need no aug to read you like an open book, Faridah Malik. And I know exactly how to drive you crazy...”  
“You’d better”, Faridah growls in pretended anger and pinches her nipple a little bit.  
“Ouch! How dare you!” Evelyn smacks her butt, then grabs her by the shoulders and shoves her into the bedroom. There she removes Faridah’s shirt, kneels down in front of her and undoes the buttons of her tight jeans. She drags it down slowly, her hands roaming over Faridah’s butt and her thighs, down her legs and up again. She kisses and softly nibbles a trace from her navel upwards, between her breasts up to her neck, and a little higher until their lips meet. Tightly entangled they let themselves drop backwards down on the bed. They take their time to explore their bodies and to caress all the little hidden spots they already have discovered on each other.  
“Wait a second”, Evelyn says breathily and slips out of Faridah’s embrace. A sassy smirk runs over her face. “I brought us something...” She leaves the bed and searches the stack of luggage they have towered up in a corner of the bedroom a few moments ago. Unerringly, she fishes a bag out, neutral white silk paper without imprint. “Catch!”, she calls and throws the bag at Faridah. Curiously, Faridah looks inside. Something smooth and black, looking suspiciously like a dildo. Then she notices the belts. “A strap-on?”  
Evelyn smiles brightly. “What do you think, huh?”  
Faridah holds it up into the air. The belts remind her oddly of a parachute harness. “Huh. And who of us is supposed to wear this?”  
“You.” Evelyn’s smirk becomes even brighter. “I want you to fuck me with this. And if you want to, I’ll do it for you afterwards.” She lays down on her back and starts petting herself, slowly and teasing, watching Faridah under half-closed lids. The show seems to have the desired effect. Faridah’s olive skin is softly flushed, her nipples big and hard.  
“Okay...” Faridah slowly stands up. “I’m starting to like the idea. Let’s see how this thing works...”  
The belts are not that complicated at the second look. They actually have something from climbing- or parachute harnesses, and Faridah with her preferences for extreme sports knows her way around these. When everything is sitting in place, she slowly turns around herself, arms crossed behind her head.  
“You like it?”, Evelyn asks.  
“Mhm, not bad.” She takes the artificial cock into her hand and strokes the length.  
“Get your ass over here, ASAP!”, Evelyn demands and sits up, legs falling open. Wetness glistens between them on her smooth skin, looking so tasty. Faridah kneels down between her legs and bents over to try a little bit of that wetness. Evelyn moans when her rough tongue licks over her entrance and pushes inside teasingly. But today this isn’t quite enough for her.  
“Ah, dammit, Malik...”  
Faridah remembers that evening in the hangar, their first time a few weeks ago, and decides to turn things upside down this time, have a little revenge. “What do you want, Evelyn?”  
“Fuck me!”  
“You sure you want this?”  
“Damn sure, yes!”  
“Okay then, I’ll fuck you now!” Faridah isn’t half as sure of herself as she makes her voice sound. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about lube, as wet as Evelyn is. Her girlfriend has one arm rested behind her head and watches her in anticipation. Faridah takes the view deep inside: Her softly tanned skin, her warm brown eyes, the freckles on and around her small nose, the pale scar on her stomach where her appendix had been removed as a kid, the birth mark on her inner thigh. A warm wave of affection spreads inside her.  
“What’s up? Will you fuck me already?” Evelyn smirks at her.  
“Hell, yes!” Carefully, she parts Evelyn’s labia with her fingers and strokes over her entrance. The black strap-on slips inside her effortlessly. Evelyn gives a content sigh, and Faridah starts with some small, careful thrusts. “You good?”  
“Harder! Don’t be afraid, I’ll tell you when something’s wrong.”  
“Okay.” The movements are somewhat odd at first, but soon Faridah finds into a slow, intensive pace. Telling from Evelyn’s panting, she must be doing something right. Her girlfriend wraps her legs around her hips, pulling her closer, the warmth from her skin radiating into her. A sweat bead drops from Faridah’s hair onto her chest; Evelyn licks it up and lets her tongue roam over her breasts, circling her nipples and sucking softly at them, moaning into her soft skin. The pace she meets Faridah’s thrusts with becomes faster and more demanding.  
“Fuck, Malik, don’t stop, ah, I’m close...” Her fingernails scratch Faridah’s back, so hard this time it almost hurts. Faridah doesn’t mind, quite the opposite. When Evelyn comes a few moments later, she feels that she is close, too. The friction from the strap-on at her clit combined with the feeling of having done that to her girlfriend is pulsing through her entire body and pooling hot between her thighs. She holds Evelyn close while the waves of her orgasm strike her hard.  
“There you are, that’s it, I’ve got you”, she murmurs soothingly into her hair.  
“Your turn now?”, Evelyn asks smilingly when the last waves have smoothed out and she is able to breath again.  
“Damn, yes!”

When they finally are lying there, sweaty and satisfied in each other’s arms, Faridah whispers again: “Welcome home!”  
Evelyn answers with a kiss on her forehead. “I never want to leave again!”


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn slammed the door shut and left. That night she met Lee.

The longer Faridah was thinking about it, the less she was ready to just accept what had happened. An accident? Really now? Nope, not if Lee was involved. This spoiled, rich brat had been losing control before under influence of alcohol or worse stuff. Faridah despised him from the depths of her heart. And not just because he took her girlfriend. That daddy’s boy hadn’t been working seriously for a single day of his life and behaved himself like an old-school Pasha. He was always surrounded by some ‘bunnies’, what he called them, or underlies admiring him. How Evelyn happened to fall for this guy? Until today, Faridah had no suiting explanation. She was unable to stay on the sofa, went up and down in her room.  
The police officer from the day before had left his card for her with the notice that she could call him anytime for further questions. She decided to do exactly that now.  
He picked up at the second ring. Yes, he knew whom he was talking to. No, there were no new developments, the examinations were still in progress. But so far there were no clues for a crime, the examinations would most likely soon be quit. Apart from that, Miss Carmichael’s parents had been informed and they had arranged that the body would be transferred to the US once the autopsy was finished. When the autopsy would be finished? He could not give her those information, that was in the responsibility of the LIMB pathologist. He was very sorry that he could not give her more satisfying information. Faridah was willing to believe him.  
Sighing, she went into the kitchen to make herself some tea. While she was waiting for the kettle to boil, leant against the kitchen counter, she remembered someone else she could call: Myriam Wu, an old friend from Heng Sha police. Myriam was owing her a favour, a big one to be precisely. She on her side had people everywhere in the city who owed her one.  
She dialled her number at the police department and waited. And waited. Just when she was about to hang up, she answered. “Heng Sha Police, department for cyber crime, Detective Myriam Wu, how can I help you?”  
“Myriam? This is Faridah.”  
“Excuse me, who?”  
„Faridah. Malik. The ArcAir pilot.”  
Silence remained for a moment at the other side.  
“Miry? You remember me?”  
“Sorry.” Myriam’s voice was raw and shaky. “That’s impossible. Faridah Malik has died two years ago in a VTOL crash.”  
“She hasn’t, Myriam”, she replied calmly. She had expected a reaction like this as she had left Heng Sha with quite some fireworks back then. “I had to go offscreen for a while, but I can explain that. Can we talk in private?”  
“Sorry, but I’m not sure I can believe you. How can this be?”  
Faridah took a deep breath. “Well then. Three years ago, you have had a swimming accident on one of the islands out in the bay, you almost drowned. Since there was a big explosion in some chemical factory at the same time there were not enough rescue pilots available. Evelyn and I took you out and flew you to the hospital.”  
Silence again on the other side, then she cleared her throat painfully. “That’s all correct. I guess you call because of Evelyn then? I heard what happened to her. An accident?”  
“Nope.” She snorted. “Can we meet?”

Faridah looked at the timer in her VU-Phone. Shortly past seven p. m., Myriam’s shift would end in two hours. She would need a little more patience. For a second she closed her eyes. Evelyn and her had been so lucky, inseparable and so much in love it was almost obscene. For a whole year, they had felt like heaven on earth. Why the hell did it have to take such a terrible end? When did things start to go so damn wrong? This thought had been haunting her all day. The answer was still unclear, but one memory became clearer and clearer...

... “Will you eventually come out from behind your books?” Evelyn stands in the doorway, arms crossed, and glares at Faridah.  
“Yeah, sure, as soon as this damn exam is done.”  
“Hey, I’m doing the same exam, remember?”  
Faridah puts the data pad she has been studying aside and looks up at Evelyn, face in a frown. “Yes, Ev, I do remember. But unlike you I don’t have a perfect memory, that meteorology shit just won’t get into my head!”  
“Then you should take a break all the more and go outside! I’ll go to the Hive lather with the girls, it’s 2000’s party tonight!”  
Faridah sighs and rubs her temples. “Sorry, Ev, I really won’t make it tonight. My new augs are still not working properly, and this damn Neuropozyne makes me nauseous.”  
That is all true, but if Faridah is honest with herself, there is something else. Something she can’t get a grip on. The last eleven months have been like one big party, and she has been enjoying every single moment. But now? She feels tired, somehow empty. She would like to talk to Evelyn about that, but a feeling tells her that she wouldn’t listen. Or rather, she would and then suggest to go dancing for distraction. But right now, all Faridah wants is a relaxed evening on the sofa and a shoulder to lean on.  
Evelyn pouts. “Why did you have to get augmented right now, so close to the exam? Told you it’s a bad idea!”  
“I could effort them just by now, and when this fucking law for aviation security will come into force I need those damn neuronal implants like any other pilot. I’ve been working my ass off for them, as you know. I just don’t happen to have a rich family, that...” She trails off, but she already knows she has gone too far.  
“That what?” Evelyn’s voice turns icy. “That shoves everything up my ass?”  
“Dammit, no, sorry! I didn’t mean that!”  
“But you thought it. I can see that, even without CASIE. Know what? Keep your excuses. I’ll go out alone with the girls. Maybe you’re in a better mood when I’m back.”  
“Fine, go already.” Now Faridah is sounding equally cold. “Let off some steam, maybe you’re in a better mood afterwards.”  
Evelyn slams the door shut and leaves. That night she meets Lee.


	6. Part 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Human trafficking it is, then? That’s what your boss was in?” Myriam took a sip from her beer.  
> “At first I thought so, but there was more behind. I’m not even sure that my boss knew what his special customer’s freight was. As far as I know, he just took the generous payment and looked the other way when they told him to.”

Myriam was already sitting at the bar when Faridah entered the pub on a side street. The light was dim, and it took her a few seconds until she discovered her. Myriam eyed her from head to feet before she went up from her barstool and dragged her into a tight hug.  
“Faridah Malik, it’s really you. Lookin’ pretty good for a dead girl.”  
“Hello Miry, good to see you. You don’t look bad either!” Actually, she looked pretty much like she remembered her, besides the fact that her once short, green hair was now long and black with pink strains.  
“Thanks, I can’t complain”, she smiled. “Now, where have you been the last two years? You said you had to go offscreen?”  
Next to Faridah, two young Chinese guys were pushing at the bar, one of them weaving his Credit chip and demanding beer. Their hoodies and the conspicuous augs identified them as members of the Red Arrow triad.  
Faridah pointed at them with her chin. “Let’s sit down back there. That story doesn’t need to be heard by everybody.”  
They both ordered a beer at the bar and moved to an empty table in the back of the room. Besides the two Red Arrow guys, there were no suspicious figures, neither from the triads nor Belltower, and Faridah felt a little more comfortable. She wasn’t sure how Tong and his allies would react to her return from the dead. It was certainly somewhat risky for her to show up on Red Arrow terrain, she was well aware of that. But if she wanted information – and damn, she wanted – then Myriam Wu was her best chance.  
“Alright.” Myriam placed their glasses on the table, sat down and rested her chin in her hands, watching Faridah closely. “Now tell me about Evelyn. You don’t think it was an accident?”  
“No, I think it was Lee.”  
Myriam narrowed her eyes. “You have any proof?”  
“Not yet, no. That’s why I’m here. I’m asking for the favour you owe me.”  
“I don’t know, Malik. Lee is a rich daddy’s boy with bad manners and a weak spot for hard stuff, but murder? As far as I know, he really had a thing for Evelyn, whatever that’s supposed to mean in his terms. I’m not sure whether he’s capable of killing someone.”  
“He was probably drunk or high or both. Supposedly, she fell down the stairs. When Lee called the ambulance, he said she was drunk.”  
“Well, it’s not like Evelyn never was drunk...”  
Faridah threw an angry look at her, and she lifted both hands apologizingly. “Just saying. But fine, I’ll check my colleague’s report and then see what I can do. I liked you, both of you. Now about you, Malik: Why did you make everybody believe you were dead? Where have you been all the time?”  
“Long story...”  
“No excuses. There’s nobody waiting at home for me. I’ve got plenty of time.”  
Faridah took a long swig from her beer. “I know, I probably don’t have to say that, but... I’m telling you this as a friend...”  
“No, you really don’t have to say that. Or did you kill someone? Then things could get complicated for me.”  
“No, I...” Faridah trailed off, then she realised the smirk on Myriam’s face. “You stupid ass, of course not!” She relaxed a little bit. “It’s just that Belltower had a main role in that story, and as close as you’re collaborating with them...”  
“We have to!”, Myriam snarled. “I hate those bastards. They won’t learn anything from me.” She shrugged her head, then turned back at Faridah. “But right from the start. How the hell did you survive that plane crash? I’ve seen images from the wreck, it was burned down to the last screw!”  
“I jumped out with my wing suit beforehand.”  
“Is that now part of the standard pilot gear?”  
Faridah laughed. “No, Ev and I had made a bet.” She turned serious instantly, tears burning in her eyes. It was just then that she realised that this morning had been the last happy moment together with Evelyn.  
“What bet?”, Myriam asked.  
“That I won’t be able to jump off the VTOL with the wing suit and crawl back in a few thousand meters lower.”  
“Are you nuts?”, Myriam laughed in disbelief.  
“It has been said...”  
“And, did you make it?”  
“I did. We had just landed when our boss sent us back up again, with one of his ‘special customers’ on board. I had no time to put the wing suit off. That saved my life.”  
“I guess your passenger was none of the nice guys?”  
“Yeah, you can say that. We came into a thunderstorm. Our ‘special client’ was in such a hurry that he didn’t listen to us and sent us right into a storm cluster. We were struck by lightning and almost crashed into the sea. That lead to me seeing things I shouldn’t have seen.” She closed her eyes for a brief moment

and looks right into the face of a man, elderly, with grey hair and a grey beard, eyes closed. Locked into a freight pod, the transparent lid covered in white frost. Frozen, put into cryo sleep. Then the angry face of her ‘customer’, bleeding from a laceration on the forehead. The lightning strike, followed by rapid height loss, must have dragged him from his feet, just like the four freight pods that have been torn out of their securing nets and are now sliding from one side to the other within the freight bay.  
“Stay clear!”, the heavily augmented man shouts. “What are you doing here?”  
“Saving your ass!”, Faridah hisses. In that second she finds what she is looking for – the circuit breaker for the VTOL’s secondary power circuit. The primary circuit has been destroyed by the lightning, Evelyn in the cockpit has no control over the steering. Below them, the waves of the South Chinese sea come rapidly closer. Faridah pushes the button and yells “now!” into her infolink. Instantly, their trajectory stabilises as Evelyn regains her controls.  
“Now get the hell out of here, back into your cockpit!”, the ‘customer’ commands.

“Human trafficking it is, then? That’s what your boss was in?” Myriam took a sip from her beer.  
“At first I thought so, but there was more behind. I’m not even sure that my boss knew what his special customer’s freight was. As far as I know, he just took the generous payment and looked the other way when they told him to.”  
“And Evelyn and you?”  
“We had nothing to do with his special jobs. Most of the time he was a pretty relaxed guy, let us fly just for fun or go on weekend trips to those party islands with you and the other girls. We had a really good time, and he paid well. So, Evelyn and I decided to not ask and simply do our job.”  
“Which didn’t work out for you after you saw that guy in the freight pod. Figures. But Evelyn wanted to leave it that way?”  
“Yeah. I could... Damn, our last proper talk was arguing about that. I... I’ve been so stupid!”  
“Why stupid? You’re a woman with a functional conscience, which you followed. You can’t say that about everybody in this damn city.”  
“What?” Faridah blinked confusedly. „Oh, I wasn’t talking about that. Dammit, no, back in that day I did right. It was... it was about human lives.” Her look went inwardly again. “Worst thing, that day I couldn’t help anybody. You know, before I came to Heng Sha, I was a rescue pilot. I hated it when we were too late and lost patients. I guess that was one reason for me to switch to transport flights. No lives depending on that, at least not immediately.”  
Myriam nodded. “Anyway, when I had that accident, you were at the right time in the right place, I’ll never forget that. What happened next?”  
“Shit hit the fan. Our client forced us at gunpoint to fly him to the ‘special economic zone’, on top of Heng Sha’s roof, you know, up there, where those heavily guarded laboratories of who knows how many companies are. No idea how many of them are legal. A robot picked up the freight pods, our client went with them and told us to wait for him inside the plane. Well, I disregarded the order and went after him.”  
“I guess Evelyn didn’t appreciate that.”  
“Not a bit. That’s what I was talking about when I said that our last talk was an argument about whether we shall keep ourselves out of all this or not. I could no longer.”  
“I’m a bit surprised Evelyn wanted to. After all, she’s... was... always such a kind soul.”  
“She was.” Faridah nodded and fought back another wave of tears. “I guess, she simply was scared. Which we actually both had good reasons to be.”  
Myriam nodded. “Your story already sounds scary enough so far. Damn, Malik, as if your bet wasn’t dangerous enough... So, where did your client go with those pods?”  
“He entered a Tai Yong Medical facility.”  
“Why am I not surprised?”, Myriam growled.  
“He met with two Tai Yong employees, and they defrosted the people inside the pods. That went quite fast and must have been a hell of a trip. The four guys had no idea where they were. Looks like they have been kidnapped right off the streets of Lima.”  
“Lima? Peru?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I think I get it. They were Isolay employees, right?”  
Faridah made a face. “Bingo. Four of their best scientists, with tons of secret knowledges. I’ve read a report about their disappearing later. Tai Yong made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. One of them tried – the elderly man I saw on the plane – and was shot on the spot, by our ‘customer’. I almost became sick, I panicked and ran away. Of course, the guys noticed that and went after me. I only just made it to the plane and shouted at Evelyn to start. We made it out, but it was a damn close call.” She took a big sip from her beer before she could go on.  
“Anyways, when we came back to the ArcAir hangar, our boss was already informed. He took Evelyn out of the plane – I’m really grateful for that – then he sent his security guy in after me. Long story short, I took off with the bird, kicked him out of the loading bay, played catch with some Belltower drones, and got shot by the last drone at my tail.”  
“And then you just jumped out in between those skyscrapers up there with your wing suit? You are crazy, Malik, no more questions.” She emptied her glass and smirked at Faridah. “However, I’m glad you’re still alive. About Evelyn – I’ll see what I can do. But that won’t be much, I’m afraid. Lee’s family has their hands and, what’s worse, their money in every important place.”  
Faridah gave her a brief smile and went up. “Thanks, Miry. For everything. I guess I’ll go home now, try to get some sleep.”  
“Do you want me to bring you home? Your face is pretty white.”  
“No, I’m fine. It’s not far.” Faridah wasn’t sure she was believing her own words, but she was feeling a strong need to be alone.  
“Okay, good night then.” Myriam smiled at her. “If you need anything, no matter what, just call me, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the events Faridah tells in this chapter are from the novella "Deus Ex: Fallen Angel" by James Swallow. I tried not to copy and tell the story in my own words, but I somehow had to integrate it into my work to make things complete :-)


	7. Part 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam was standing outside the Hive, reverently watching the huge video screen that was covering the Hive’s entire front.  
>  “Always remind me about one thing, Malik”, he murmured into his infolink.  
> “What?”  
> “That I’ll never screw you up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after almost one year of struggling with writer's block and life in general, the story is complete! Enjoy!

And Myriam got something. She called Faridah the next morning, shortly past eleven a. m.  
“Slept well, Malik? Looks like your gut feelings were right. Two things: You’ll find the police report at the Alice Garden Pods, plus some background information. A bad guy at the homicide department owed me a favour, but of course he wants to remain covert, so he placed that stuff in a pod for you.”  
“Thanks for that. Do you know what it says?”  
“No, he wouldn’t talk on the phone about that.”  
“Okay. What’s second?”  
“There is some busybody at LIMB who would positively sell his mother’s medical report for the opportunity to play spy. He calls himself ‘Mister X’ and promised to hand you over the autopsy report.”  
“Can I trust him?”  
“Of course not. But he knows that he’ll be in trouble if he screws you. I threatened to hack his black money account.”  
“I guess that will do the trick.” Faridah grinned.  
“One more thing, Malik. Try not to do anything stupid, okay?”

The lower level of the Alice Garden Pods was dim, and the small cooking stalls were spreading the smell of fried food. Faridah looked around. This place had once been constructed as a cheap accommodation for travellers of all kinds, a capsule hotel like it existed in every greater East Asian town. But this one had evolved into something different: an unclear pile of human existences, ideal to hide oneself away, from the law, from creditors or ex-partners. A lot of the residents could simply effort no other accommodation and had checked in for several months.  
Just when she was looking for the staircase to the upper levels, someone tapped her shoulder. Faridah jerked and clenched her fists, ready to punch a potential aggressor’s nose. But when she turned around, she relaxed instantly. A familiar face was looking at her, angular, framed by short, black hair and a black goatee, eyes hidden behind reflecting shields. Adam Jensen.  
“Malik? What are you doing here?”

The sun was painting narrow stripes on the carpet of Faridah’s apartment where it made its way through half-closed curtains. Only at this early evening hour it stood obliquely enough to send a few beams underneath the Pangu right into the city under the city. Faridah sensed nothing of that. She felt cramped, trapped and locked-in, and she could do nothing. Just wait for Adam to contact her via infolink. Did she make a mistake when she filled him in? Dragged him into her very own story? When she showed her vulnerability to him?  
But did he even leave her a choice?  
‘Surely a girl can have her secrets; but I must always be able to relay on my pilot, my only backup.’  
Asshole. Faridah was absolutely professional, he should have known that by now. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Most likely, he had at least as many trust issues as she had. Probably more. No wonder, considering his story. Then she realised that she did in fact trust Adam, his professional competences as much as his personal reliability. In some ways she even considered him a friend, though his restrained, sometimes brusque behaviour. No, if there was anybody in this damn city she could trust, it was Adam.  
His first report after he received the autopsy report from ‘Mister X’ had been a heavy shock. Not just that there were neither alcohol nor drugs in Evelyn’s blood. She had been expecting that.  
‘Malik? There is something else.’ Adam’s voice is even darker than usually. ‘Evelyn was pregnant.’  
Faridah almost became nauseous again.

Someone knocked at the door. Faridah jerked heavily. Who the hell...  
She opened the door just a crack. Outside stood Myriam, smiling brightly at her.  
“Miry?”  
“Hey Malik! Want some company?”  
“I... I think so...”  
“Can I come in then?” She held up a bottle of wine. “Brought us some reinforcements from Madame Chardonnay.”  
“Oh, sorry, sure.” Faridah opened the door. “Sorry, Miry, I’m not myself today.”  
“That’s why I’m here.” She dragged Faridah into a tight hug.  
When they broke apart, Faridah didn’t know what to say, so she showed towards the kitchen and mumbled: “I’ll get us some wine glasses. Make yourself comfortable.”  
When she returned, Myriam had removed her combat boots and casually placed her feet on the coffee table. “Comfy enough?”, Faridah grinned. Miry had a talent to make herself home at any place. For a while, she had been out with Faridah, Evelyn and some other girls on almost every weekend. Faridah knew her as sort of wild party girl with a big heart, basically like Evelyn.  
“You didn’t finish the story last time. Where have you been during the last two years?”, Myriam asked while she opened the bottle.  
“America. Had a job as a company pilot.”  
“Honest work, huh?”  
“As I did here. At least most of the time.” Faridah dropped down on the couch and slung her arms around her knees. “Talking about honest work – do you still do your side job?”  
“Sure thing. Most of it is even legal, you know.”  
“Most of it?”  
“Yeah, well. Companies pay me for testing their firewalls. And they pay pretty well for keeping their secrets to myself, when I sniff through their systems. You can’t really live from what the police pays. And it’s boring since Belltower runs the place.”  
“Nice...” Faridah placed her chin on her knees.  
“If you just had me back then I could have told you that ArcAir is unclean.”  
“We knew that anyways”, Faridah answered, a little sharper than intended. “We thought...” Suddenly, her face went blank, she listened inwardly. Myriam knew that look.  
“Infolink?”, she asked. Faridah nodded briefly. Her lips moved soundlessly as she subvocalized her answers. Myriam waited in silence. When Faridah had finished her talk, cold anger was sparkling in her eyes.  
“That goddamn asshole!”  
“Who?”  
“Lee. It was my colleague. He has just been in Lee’s apartment, intended to question him, but Lee wasn’t home. Instead, Adam found the murder weapon and incriminating mails.”  
“Meaning it was really murder?” Myriam narrowed her eyes.  
Faridah nodded. “But as we have foreseen, his family will try to buy him free.”  
“You don’t plan on letting him get away with that, do you?”  
“Holy shit, no. I just don’t know exactly, how...”  
“What’s your colleague up to now?”  
“He’s looking for Lee in his second living room, the Hive. Maybe he manages to get a confession out of him. Adam used to be a cop, he’s pretty good with such things.”  
“So, Lee is still hanging around at the Hive?”  
“Like always. Looks like he’s already got the next girl on the hook.”  
“That shows from great grief”, Myriam growled. “One should not talk bad about the dead, but Ev was a fucking stupid idiot to leave you for this... this son of a bitch!”  
Faridah just nodded silently. Adam’s words had triggered something inside her, something she couldn’t really get a grip on. Something was scratching at the wall she had build up around her, enabling her to go on. She suddenly had the feeling that the world around her was dissolving, toughly and infinitely slow. She was hearing Myriam’s words, was feeling her suddenly worried look and her hand on her shoulder, but she was stunned. Her arms, her legs, even her eyelids, were heavy as lead. Coldness spread out in her stomach. Time passed, but she had no idea how much. It was meaningless. Her thoughts were floating as slowly as the air around her. Evelyn was gone and would never come back. Would things have turned out differently if she had not followed that freight pod on that cursed day and stayed with her instead? Could she have made a difference? Would she have had to fight harder? Was she guilty on Evelyn’s death? Would she – 

She is sitting on the rooftop where she just has landed with her wing suit. Twenty meters below her, thick smoke evaporates into the air, flames are dancing in what is left of her VTOL. Pity, she thinks, we just had the setup fixed...  
And then she realises it doesn’t matter. At least to her. Her time with ArcAir is irretrievably over. Just as her time in Heng Sha. Belltower runs the city, and they will try to catch her by all means, now that she knows one of their dark secrets.  
She searches her bag, which she had only just been able to grab before the jump, for a cigarette. She needs something to soothe her trembling hands. Nope; instead, her fingers touch something else. A business card somebody gave her a few days ago. It says ‘Sarif Industries’ in a stylish bow. Underneath: ‘David Sarif, CEO’. She still remembers the kind, open face with the silver strand in short, black hair, and the incredibly elaborate arm prosthesis. She had flown him to an urgent meeting. From the airport to Tai Yong headquarters in record time. “I’m impressed”, the passenger told her when he left her bird. “If you ever become homesick for the States, call me. My company could use a pilot with your skills!”  
Homesick for the States... Well, right now anywhere in the world is better than Heng Sha.  
Three hours later, she sits inside the plane to Peking, with nothing more than the wing suit on her body and a few Credits on the chip in her pocket. She will have to hurry; before anybody finds out that she wasn’t inside the burning wreck she must have left the country. She feels a little sorry about the things she’s leaving behind; she has made herself pretty comfortable. But on the other hand, she has a nice little fortune on her safe bank account, out of Belltower’s reach. Enough for a new start, all the more in a place like Detroit.  
No, the single tear that is running down her cheek is for Evelyn. She must tell her that she’s still alive! Every inch of her body yearns to activate the infolink and to contact Evelyn. Just to hear her voice, to ask if she’s alright. Still, Evelyn will mourn her, even as they are not a couple anymore.   
But she can’t. The more Evelyn knows, the more she is in danger.  
Faridah activates the setup menu of her Infolink and resets her frequency. Two times she has to confirm the security query, her retina display shows the warning: ‘Your existing contacts will be deleted if you proceed. They will no longer be able to contact you’.  
Faridah confirms with her PIN code, leans back and closes her eyes.  
“Dear passengers”, the pilot says over the speakers, “we will reach Peking International Airport in a few minutes. Passengers who have booked the onward flight to Washington, DC, are kindly asked to stay aboard. To everyone else, we wish you a pleasant stay at Peking and thank you for flying with Air China.”

Something cold touched her forehead. “Malik! Open your eyes, look at me!”  
The voice came from somewhere far away, and it took a few seconds before it came through to her. A cold droplet ran over her forehead and dripped down on her cheek. The unpleasant stimulus helped her to orientate, until she was able to follow the command.  
“That’s it, Malik, there you are”, Myriam said and touched her forehead with a wet towel. “That’s it, I’m here, look at me”, she kept talking.  
Faridah shook her head when she finally regained control over her body.  
“I’m sorry, I...”, she whispered roughly.  
“It’s fine, Malik, I’m here.”  
“I don’t know what... I... I’ve never before...”  
“Gone bluescreen? Sure, but I guess you haven’t visited your ex girlfriend in the morgue and chased her murderer afterwards either. Don’t be afraid, it will pass.”  
“Have you... secretly studied Psychology?” Faridah tried to sound jokingly, but she failed. Myriam’s face went dark. “No, Malik. You just don’t happen to be the only one who went through shit lately.”  
“I... sorry, Myriam, I didn’t want to...”  
“It’s fine.”  
“What... what happened to you?”  
“Another time, Malik. It doesn’t matter right now.” She passed Faridah a full wine glass. “Drink. That will calm you down.”   
She took a PDA out of her pocket, then sat down next to Faridah, placing her feet on the coffee table. For a while, they sat side by side in silence and drank. Eventually, Faridah’s eyes looked like she was entirely back in the here and now.  
“Any idea what you want to do now?”, Myriam asked calmly.  
“I’m not sure.” Faridah sighed and sat her glass aside. “It depends if Adam gets a suitable confession out of Lee. We could pass that to the authorities. But somehow... somehow I would like to have some personal revenge.”  
Myriam shook her head. “I get that, but don’t make your hands dirty on that guy.”  
“Not if I can avoid that. But somehow, I would like to manage it that he can never show his face in Heng Sha again...” Faridah felt anger rising up in her, replacing the fear and the helplessness. It felt better.  
“How that? Publish his profile?”  
“And stick it to every lamppost around town? Not bad...” She considered for a minute. “I just have a better idea. I’ll need your help for that. Can you hack a video screen?”  
“Sure thing. But I’d have to be on-site to bypass the firewall.”  
“Adam could do that, too.” Faridah went up slowly, her legs were still a little shaky. “Excuse me, nature’s calling.”  
Myriam nodded and stretched herself pleasurably.  
Faridah stayed away pretty long. Just when Myriam considered looking after her, she showed up again, a satisfied expression on her face.  
“What’s up? Did you have sex in there?”, Myriam asked with a grin.  
“Even better. Adam got a full confession out of Lee. I’ve got it on my black box.” She pointed at her forehead.  
“You have a black box? Really?”  
„Really. Mandatory for all pilots in China.”  
“Those paranoid assholes...”, Myriam growled. “But fine, that makes things easier for us now. Your idea about that video screen, you still want to go for it?”  
“Definitively! Adam is just working on giving you access to the Hive’s systems.”  
“All right, pass me the confession!”  
“Here comes the file.”

Half an hour later, Adam was standing outside the Hive, reverently watching the huge video screen that was covering the Hive’s entire front.  
“Always remind me about one thing, Malik”, he murmured into his infolink.  
“What?”  
“That I’ll never screw you up!”

Faridah dropped onto the sofa and sighed. For the first time since her arrival, she felt something akin to peace.  
“Thank you, Myriam. I... I’m so glad, I could kiss you!”  
Myriam smirked. “Why don’t you do it?”


End file.
